


You Weren't Supposed To Know, But Thanks for Staying Anyways

by Velocity_Owl87



Series: Loup!Verse [13]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Folklore, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-22
Updated: 2012-09-22
Packaged: 2017-11-14 19:55:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/518949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velocity_Owl87/pseuds/Velocity_Owl87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel's been raised on stories of other worldly beings and told to keep his mouth shut and his eyes open and to mind his business. It's a policy that has served him well until he stumbles upon Semyon grieving and finally gets proof that the old tales do have kernels of truth in them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Weren't Supposed To Know, But Thanks for Staying Anyways

**Author's Note:**

> I had been asked by someone if the Loup! Verse has any stories of humans interacting with a loup! teammate and whether they would know about them and how would they react. For some reason, Gabriel was the one that ended up being the obvious choice. So that was how this story came about.
> 
> Semyon had a really bad summer last year, but I am not going to write about it, because I honestly don't think I can do it justice. So it will be left ambiguous as to who he is grieving, but they are his pack.

Gabriel knew that he was an anomaly everywhere he went. He was not only the youngest captain in the history of the league, he was also from the most isolated northern part of Sweden, where he had learned to watch and keep the secrets of his homeland.

His father had always hammered the lesson home that he was to be silent and careful and never let his guard down. And to never travel the woods at night if he could help it. There were things in the woods that his father would always get tight-lipped about it.

It got to the point where he had stopped asking and stopped believing the old stories. But he always found himself heeding his father's advice of watching and being careful. That had proven to be quite useful time and time again.

It had saved him from bad relationships and bad games. Bad deals and also bad scenes. He always made sure to thank his father for that at least.

He also found himself wanting to curse him for it.

He had already started to notice too many things about his team-mates.

Things that had started to bring back the old stories to his mind.

He wasn't quite sure how or what had tipped him off, but he knew that some of their behaviours simply didn't match what he was used to.

He had already gotten strange vibes from the Lundqvist brothers and from Maggie and Limpan the last time they had all played together.

They had all been...more than what he had been used to. He swore that Maggie hadn't had those kind of teeth before. Nor had Limpan been that fast. The Lundqvists had always been that vicious and he could swear that he had seen Henke's eyes flash a different colour when he had rushed the net in games once or twice.

The old ways stuck, so he simply had kept his head down and played with them, not said anything about what he thought or suspected.

He could have dismissed it all as his imagination if it hadn't been for the arrival of Semyon Varlamov.

Of course he knew the reputation of the young goalie. He remembered that series and how heartbroken Backstrom had been after the loss to the Pens. He had been more jealous of the chance to get that far with very little experience under his belt. He wouldn't ever admit that to Nicky though. He had a healthy sense of self preservation.

He also knew that if he did anything to annoy Backstrom, he would have to face the wrath of Ovechkin. He had heard the rumours, but he hadn't dared ask. Besides, all of the relationships in the league were open secrets. Everyone just had more tact than to say anything about anything to anyone though.

So he fell back on silence and kept his own council and his opinion of that series.

But he did want to talk to Varlamov about the series. About keeping his cool under such pressure and how he was finding the atmosphere in Colorado. But he didn't say anything and kept their conversations to the general minimum that they were expected to say as team-mates.

He figured that was going to be the case for their playing careers until they either both got traded or retired.

He didn't expect for the status quo to change like it did. Nor did he expect for it to change in such a drastic way.

He had kept his distance from Varlamov when he had seen the man nursing his private grief. He had seen how Matt had tried to be sympathetic and been gently, but firmly rebuffed. He had seen Milan do the same, but had gotten nowhere as well.

So he hadn't even tried other than the perfunctory words. He knew when someone didn't want to be approached and he respected that.

So he had gone on about his business, which included going for a run in the mountains of Colorado. He missed the forests of his homeland and Colorado was a comfort he partook with every time that he possibly could.

He had been running at a steady rate, listening to the mix on his Ipod and enjoying the greenery he was passing when he heard it. Even through the electronic beats, he could hear the mournful howl that tore through the usually quiet forests. He paused and took off his headphones and listened.

All he could hear was the usual sounds of the forests: birdsong, the crackling of branches and his own breathing. Nothing more. He was about to continue when he heard it again. A sound so sad that it made his heart ache and close his eyes to stop the tears from slipping down his face.

It was grief so deep and profound that he had never felt in his entire life. It was the kind of grief that was private and went so deep that no one could understand or know. He could taste that in the back of his throat and he knew that he had to leave as more tears coursed down his face.

He had just put on his headphones and was about to run when Semyon appeared in front of him, his face twisted in sorrow and his eyes a silvery blue that Gabriel instinctively knew had something to do with the tales he had heard as a child. He yelped and stumbled backwards, his heart hammering in his chest as he stared at the other man whose face was crumpled and wet with bloody tears.

He yanked off his headphones and scrambled away from Semyon, who only followed him with speed that was inhuman and only stopped when Gabriel's back hit a tree and he was pinned between it and Semyon. Gabriel only swallowed hard and tried to slow his breathing as Semyon got down to his knees and looked at Gabriel sharply.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to see. I just...I was running. If you'll-"

"I'm not going to hurt you." Semyon replied in clear, slightly accented English as his eyes went back to their normal clear blue and he wiped the bloody tracks from his face.

"Then what do you want from me?" Gabriel asked. Semyon smiled, but it had no warmth in it.

"To talk. What else is there to do now that you have found me like this?"

~*~*~*~*~

"Here. I hope you like." Semyon said as he plunked down a cup of Linden tea sweetened with honey in front of Gabriel before sitting down across from a still visibly shaken Gabriel.

He cradled his own mug and took a sip, giving his shaken teammate enough time to compose himself so that he could get the explanation of what he had seen in the woods.

He had taken two large mouthfuls of his tea when Gabriel was finally calm enough to speak.

"When I was in Sweden...my father always said that there were other beings living in the forest.He always told us to respect them and to stay away. I honestly thought he was just saying things. About Vargs and Volks and wolves that wore human skins."

Semyon's eyes flickered to silver and back, but he didn't reply.

"I never believed him. Until I saw you in the forest. I never meant for that to happen."

"I know you didn't" Semyon finally replied, his eyes on Gabriel as he spoke.

"I...I went there to grieve. My pack." Tears came to his eyes again and he looked away to compose himself.

"I am alone here and I have learned to live alone. There are enough volks here to make it easier to be here. But I always had my pack at home to anchor me. But now that they are gone..."

He bit his lip and looked down at his cup. He still couldn't believe that they were all gone. His pack since he was bitten at thirteen. The ones that had kept him sane through all of it. His soul cried out for them. His heart was broken and he didn't know where to begin to heal it again. He couldn't go home anymore and that stung horribly.

He was lost. Horribly lost and with no map to navigate this new terrain.

He was so deep into his sadness that he jerked when he felt Gabriel's tentative touch on his arm.

He looked up, startled and Gabriel was surprised at the sight of his eyes and the rapid movements, but stayed still. He didn't feel threatened by the touch. Or the closeness.

He had minded when others had tried. But with Gabriel, it was different. He clearly hadn't wanted to intrude. Nor did he want to make Semyon do anything he wasn't comfortable with. Gabriel had a healthy respect for a world that he wasn't a part of.

He could have done worse, he supposed.

"Does it get better?"

Gabriel's eyes widened and he was silent as he contemplated Semyon's question for a long while before he finally answered.

"I'd like to think so."

Semyon bit his lip and looked away.

"Me too."


End file.
